Pax Christi New Jersey

Working to bring about non-violent social change through prayer, study and action. A region of Pax Christi USA, (www.paxchristiusa.org) representing the Catholic Peace Movement in the United States.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Feast of the Holy Innocents

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Today death is placed side-by-side with birth. And why such a day of sorrow within these days of Christmas? Perhaps if told at any other season, this story of such cruelty might make our faith seem absurd. But we know that in the midst of such violence, the Light which darkness cannot overcome--the Prince of Peace--has come into our world. Throughout everygeneration there are Herods who begrudge each new generation its very existence. Today we remember all holy innocents of every time and place. For Rachel has not ceased her weeping.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Death Penalty Abolished in NJ

By a vote of 44-36 the death penalty abolition bill passed the assembly. (Note that Bramnick and Munoz both voted against it. Kean also voted against it earlier in the week. I have asked for their reasons, we shall see if they respond.)

Now it is just awaiting the governor's signature before it can become law. Corzine has already said that he will sign it in the next couple of days.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Is a Dog's Life More Important than Human Life?

I just read an article about Governor Corzine recieving 10,000 calls to save the life of a dog who has been ordered to be put down because he viciously attacked a man. If that many of us can call about a dog, surely we can all find the time to make a call to our respective state legislators to end the use of the death penalty. Make sure our legislators know that we are serious about respecting human life too.

NJ District 21 Important to Death Penalty Aboliton

Please take action! The death penalty abolition bill will be voted on in the full NJ State Senate. It will also be voted on in the Law and Public Safety Committee. Jon Bramnick is a member of that committee. Please contact him and tell him you would like him to vote in favor of abolition of the death penalty.

Dear Friends in District 21,

Please contact your legislators NOW! Tell them to vote YES on the death penalty abolition bill.

Senator Thomas Kean: 908-232-3673 * SenKean@njleg.org

Asm. Jon Bramnick: 908-232-3673 * AsmBramnick@njleg.org

Asm. Eric Munoz: 908-232-3673 * AsmMunoz@njleg.org

On Monday, the full Senate will vote on whether or not to pass legislation that would abolish New Jersey's death penalty. Also on Monday, an Assembly committee will consider and vote on the same important legislation.

With two critical votes upon us, it is essential that every New Jerseyan who supports abolition of the death penalty take a moment to weigh in with their own legislators one more time, even if you have done so many times before and even if you have done so very recently. Your legislators are listed above, with their contact information. Please call them NOW, tell them that you are a constituent, and ask them to vote yes the death penalty abolition bill.

Your district is especially important because Assemblyman Jon Bramnick is a member of the committee that will be voting on Monday and Senator Kean will also cast his vote on Monday.

This is an opportunity for New Jersey to lead the nation toward justice! Because this would be the first time since 1965 that any State Legislature voted to abolish its death penalty, many are calling this a turning point moment for capital punishment in our nation's history. But, we are not there yet. Our voices must stay strong and clear until the bill passes both houses.

I will let you know the results of Monday's votes as soon as I can.

In peace, Celeste

Celeste FitzgeraldDirector, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty973-635-6396 Chatham Office609-278-6719 Trenton Officewww.njadp.org

Christmas Cards for an Abu Ghraib Whistleblower

Just about a year ago Sam Provance, Former Staff Sergeant and U.S. Army Intelligence and Systems Administrator, spoke at a program organized by the NJ Peace Action Education Fund and others about the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib that he witnessed while stationed there, noting the effect the torture had on himself, the prisoners, and his fellow soldiers turned torturers. This presentation was made on December 9, 2006 several weeks after Sam appeared at NJ Peace Action's 49th Annual Soup Luncheon, together with former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern and Iraq Veteran Against the War, Geoffrey Millard. Sam's presentation at our Soup Luncheon and his subsequent testimony at our program on torture were both powerful statements against the practice of torture. His words have been in our thoughts every time we oppose the use of torture by the U.S. at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo or elsewhere.

One of the most poignant moments of the December 9, 2006 program was when Sam Provance spoke about his experience witnessing torture at Abu Ghraib. He spoke to the audience by phone. Just hearing Sam's voice made his talk all the more moving because the audience could hear the strong emotions behind his words, showing how much he was still shaken by what he witnessed at Abu Ghraib. He also described how little support he had received from his family or his community for speaking out against torture, and stated that the only support he received was from peace activists like those gathered for the program.

We at NJ Peace Action would like to continue our support of Sam during this holiday season. After last year's programs, we asked people to send holiday cards to Sam to let him know how much we supported his efforts. We would like to continue that tradition this year and ask those who heard Sam at the Soup Luncheon or last year's December 9th program to send him a holiday card or greeting -- but this time to make it more personal. Cards and greetings can be sent to the NJ Peace Action office at 673 Bloomfield Avenue, Bloomfield, NJ 07003.

This year we ask that your cards be more personal in nature because we think Sam really just needs to know that people are thinking about him and his readjustment to life in the United States.

Please make the envelope out to Sam's attention, and the office will forward all cards and greetings received to Sam. If possible, please send your card or greeting to arrive by Friday, December 14th so that we can send them to Sam in time for him to receive the greetings by Christmas. But if you're not able to send the card until later, we can send a second mailing to Sam early in the new year.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Ceasefire Proposed in the "War on Christmas"

Finally someone is calling Bill O'Reilly and others out on their phony war on Christmas:

Christian Leaders Call for a 'Ceasefire in the Christmas Culture Wars'

Open Letter Urges Bill O'Reilly, Bill Donohue and John Gibson to Join a Campaign that focuses on the Common Good

Washington, DC - Catholic social justice leaders, religious sisters and evangelical Christians have called for a "ceasefire in the Christmas culture wars' and challenged Bill O'Reilly and others who have lashed out against a so-called secular "War on Christmas' to join them in a campaign that restores a focus on the common good during this holy season.

In an "Open Letter to Christmas Culture Warriors' published as an advertisement in the New York Post, Washington Times and the National Catholic Reporter, the group says that outrage over some department stores using "Happy Holidays' instead of "Merry Christmas' is a distraction from the profound moral challenges we face in confronting the threats to human dignity in our world.

"We believe the real assault on Christmas is how a season of peace, forgiveness and goodwill has been sidelined by a focus on excessive consumerism,' the letter states. "The powerful message Christ brings to the world is good news for the poor. Instead, Christmas is being reduced to a corporate-sponsored holiday that idolizes commerce and materialism.'

The letter will be published in the Dec. 4 issue of the Washington Times and New York Post and in the Dec. 14 issue of the National Catholic Reporter.

Fox News commentator John Gibson's 2005 book, The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday is Worse Than You Thought, denounced what he and other pundits describe as a secular agenda intent on destroying Christmas and driving religion from the public square. William Donohue, executive director of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, has warned of "cultural fascists" taking over Christmas. Bill O'Reilly has made the "War on Christmas" a prominent seasonal feature of his popular Fox broadcast.

"Christmas marks a season of hope, peace and the light of justice illuminating the dark corners of our world,' said Alexia Kelley, Executive Director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. "At a time of a real war in Iraq, and 37 million of our American neighbors living in poverty, we should be focusing on promoting peace and human dignity in our world.'

"When we consider the true meaning of Christmas, its sacredness is not validated by prescribed greetings or slogans in department stores," said Rev. Derrick Harkins, Senior Pastor of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC and a board member of the evangelical humanitarian relief agency World Relief. "If we are truly serious about the importance of Christmas, we will remember that its message of love and hope was shared with disenfranchised shepherds first,which should prompt us to be far more concerned with how the season is shared in word and deed with the poor and hurting among us."

In today’s edition of the Washington Times, a group of mostly lefty Christians has charged that Bill O’Reilly, John Gibson and Bill Donohue should stop fighting the secular war on Christmas and instead join their efforts to combat poverty and war. They are particularly incensed by Donohue’s use of the term “cultural fascists.” Donohue replied as follows:

“As someone who taught in the ghetto helping the urban poor to lift themselves out of poverty, I need no lectures from those whose idea of helping the poor is opening a can of soup for them. And as a veteran, I have done more to promote the cause of peace than all the surrender types have ever done. Indeed, they owe their very existence to people like me.

As for the term “cultural fascists,” I suggest my critics get up to speed: See my news release of 11-27-07—I use the term “multicultural monsters.”

I really wish someone could get him to stop saying that he speaks for all Catholics.

One Step Closer to Abolition in NJ

The Death Penalty abolition bill has overcome one of the last hurdles to becoming law in NJ. If all goes well by the beginning of next year the sentence of death will be replaced with the sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

See below an email from NJADP. Please call your State Senator. There are three more votes before the death penalty abolition bill can be sent to the Governor for his signature and become law!

Dear Friends,

One step down and three more to go! Today, by a vote of 8-4, the Senate Budget Committee approved the death penalty abolition bill. That means we have only three more votes to go: Assembly hearing, Assembly floor, and Senate floor.

Before I describe the hearing, here is how the votes broke:

Voting yes were Senators: Lesniak, Turner, Vitale, Sarlo, Sweeney, James, Kenny, and Coniglio. If one of these Senators is your Senator, please contact him or her right away and express your thanks. We asked them to do the right thing by voting yes on the abolition bill and now its our turn to express our gratitude for their leadership on this important issue.

Voting no were Senators: Lance, Asselta, Bucco, and Bark. If one of these Senators is your Senator, please contact him or her and respectfully express your disappointment.

See below for contact information for the full Senate.

In a packed room of abolition supporters and members of the media, the Senators heard testimony from law enforcement, murder victims' families, religious leaders, and others - all of whom said the death penalty is so harmful that it has to go.

Three Senators spoke of their change of heart on capital punishment. In describing what they had learned, a common theme was that the death penalty is a "cruel hoax" on murder victims' families, who are forced to endure painful delays and appeals as they struggle to heal.

Notably, when one Senator was ready to cast his vote, he said that his mind had been changed in part by the "calls and letters" he had received from constituents. Congratulations! That means you!

The final hearing is scheduled for Monday, December 10 in the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee. I will let you know as soon as a time is announced. I will also let you know once floor votes are confirmed. In the meantime, mark your calendar for the 10th and come be part of history!

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Reflections for the First Sunday of Advent

The following excerpt is from The Advent of the God of Peace: Reflections for Advent 2007, by Fr. John Dear, S.J. It is available from Pax Christi USA in both English and Spanish. This reflection is for the First Sunday in Advent, December 2, 2007.)

First Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 2:1-4, Romans 13:11-14, Matthew 24:37-44

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” (Isaiah 2:4)

The peace of Advent, explained in Isaiah’s ancient oracle, advances by stages. At the outset, the nations stream up the mountain of God, and there congregate in the rarefied air, awaiting a word. The word comes forth, a sermon on the mount: the words of disarmament, justice, and peace. Enraptured, the throngs return to dismantle their weapons, share their goods, and live in peace with creation, all the while the song on their lips, “Let us walk in the light of the God of peace.”

This is the Advent journey in a nutshell.

The first stage starts us on a metaphorical ascent, a pilgrimage toward our spiritual destiny. Every nation, culture, race, and religion, each of us–we’re summoned to search diligently for God. Life is a journey to the mountaintop, where we will meet the Creator of the Universe. The journey requires discipline, determination, and effort–a task of the highest priority. We’re on our way to God.

In the second stage, the pinnacle reached at last, we gently encounter the God of the mountain. There on the mountaintop, we do not speak. We listen, and God speaks. We have entered the holy realm of prayer. In the prophet’s vision, prayer has little to do with frantic pleading, grumbling, incessant talking. Rather, to pray is to sit at the feet of God and attune our inner ear. We listen deliberately, consciously, attentively to what God might say.

And God, so we’re told, has a word for us, a word of some detail–this according to both Isaiah and Jesus. God solemnly intends that we disarm, practice nonviolence, and live in peace. God solemnly intends that the nations promulgate God’s ways–immediately. As we listen, we realize, to our delight and amazement, that God is a God of nonviolence; God does not approve of killing. God does not bless war, does not justify warfare; God views war as sinful. God does not brook retaliation; God regards nuclear weaponry as idolatry and demonic. The divine eye turns askance at our violence; God despises imperial domination. God aches for people everywhere to live according to the holy wisdom of nonviolence.

Our encounter with such a God disarms our hearts, and in our hearts, the word of peace takes root: Never again hurt another. Never again support war or killing. Never again be silent in the face of global poverty, global warming, global injustice. Live in peace with one another and all people everywhere. Live in peace with the earth itself.

And so the third stage. Our hearts now set right within us, we hasten down the mountain to dismantle our weapons and feed the hungry. We take hammers to the weapons. We enter legislative chambers and codify our pledges never to hurt or wage war. We turn handguns into hammers, bullets into nails, barracks into shelters for the homeless, fighter bombers into fire prevention planes, tanks into trains, missile silos into organic farms, Trident submarines into parts for mass transit, Pentagons into low-income housing. According to the prophet, the nations will beat swords into plowshares. They’ll transform their spears of violence into pruning hooks of service. More, they’ll let the study of war fall into neglect, tactics and strategies forgotten, war scrolls left to rot and ruin. And with that, war will be abolished once and for all.

Once we meet God, sense God’s boundless love, and receive God’s words of peace, we are forever transformed into people of creative nonviolence, active compassion, and disarming love. From now on, we work for the disarmament of the world. We are peacemakers, servants, sons and daughters of the God of peace.

This will be our mission for the rest of our lives. Advent invites us to embark anew on that journey to the God of peace and the work of peace, to walk, from now on, in the light of peace.

Fr. John Dear, S.J. is an internationally known voice for peace and Christian nonviolence. He is a Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace and currently lives and works in New Mexico. His many books include: Transfiguration; The Questions of Jesus; and Living Peace.